1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to archery sights. More particularly, the present invention pertains to archery sights employing fiber optic technology. More particularly still, the present invention pertains to an archery sight having versatile and durable pins that support fiber optic cables.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Bows can be shot without using a sight for aiming. However, as technology improves and bows become more powerful, shooting without a sight has become increasingly challenging, especially at longer ranges. As such, archery sights have become much more common in recent years. Modern bows, and particularly compound bows, are typically equipped with some type of bow sight.
Much like a sight at the end of a gun barrel, a bow sight helps an archer aim arrows shot from a bow. Generally, bow sights work by providing feedback regarding where a projectile (arrow) is pointed. Although bow sights have many different configurations, bow sights are typically mounted on bow risers.
Archery sights come in a number of different configurations and levels of sophistication. One very common type of sight is known as a “fixed pin” sight. Fixed-pin sights typically have a plurality of individual pins, which can each be set to correspond with a particular known distance. Once set, the pins are secured or locked into place and remain “fixed” in position during use. Such fixed pin sights are generally very reliable and easy-to-use, even in the field.
Archers typically set their fixed pins to correspond to distances that are easy to remember, usually in 5 or 10 yard increments. Once the pins are set, shooting known distances is relatively easy. However, archers using fixed-pin sights frequently must learn to compensate for intermediate distances for which no pin is set. For example, if a target is 45 yards away, a 40 yard pin will aim too low while a 50 yard pin will aim too high. As a result, archers using fixed-pin sights must learn to “split the difference” between the pins using a practice commonly referred to as “gap-shooting”.
Archery sights typically employ fiber optic strands/cables to improve the aiming process. Fiber optic cables typically comprise a strand of optically pure glass or plastic surrounded by cladding. The cladding reflects light into the core of the cable. Thus, when the fiber optic cable is exposed to sunlight (or any other light source), light travels to the end of the cable where the core is exposed. In this manner, the end tip of the cable appears to “light-up”, as if energized by an external power source. Generally, the longer the fiber-optic cable, the more light it can gather and the brighter the tip becomes.
The small bright tip of a fiber optic cable makes an excellent aiming point on an archery sight. Even in low light conditions (for example, early in the morning or late in the evening), the tip of the fiber optic cable still stands out, thereby allowing the archer to effectively aim using the sight even in such low-light conditions.
As more pins are mounted in an archery sight, such pins can be set for smaller yardage increments, thereby reducing the need for gap shooting. However, when numerous pins are mounted in a sight, more of the target can be obscured behind such pins. This situation can make aiming more difficult, especially for certain bows with small pin-gaps.
Thus, there is a need for an improved archery sight that permits the use of multiple pins without blocking the view of an archer or otherwise obscuring the target behind such pins. The pins should be strong and durable, while permitting quick and efficient position adjustment.